Your insurance company calls you back. That’s usually the first thing that happens after knob and tube wiring removal in North Kingstown, RI. Most carriers won’t touch homes with this outdated system, and the ones that do charge you double.
But it’s bigger than insurance. You stop wondering if that flickering light is a fire waiting to happen. You plug in your laptop, your phone charger, your coffee maker, and your TV without worrying if you’re overloading a 60-amp system built when homes had two appliances total.
Your home inspector stops flagging your electrical as a liability. Buyers stop walking away. And if you’re staying put, you get the peace of mind that comes with knowing your family isn’t living on top of exposed, ungrounded wiring that’s been deteriorating since before you were born.
We’ve been handling electrical work in Rhode Island for over 30 years. We’ve rewired hundreds of older homes across North Kingstown, and we know exactly what you’re dealing with—whether it’s a 1920s colonial near Wickford or a historic property off Post Road.
We’re licensed, insured, and members of the Rhode Island Electrical Inspectors IAEI. We pull permits, coordinate inspections, and make sure everything meets current code. You’re not getting a handyman with a YouTube tutorial—you’re getting electricians who’ve done this specific job more times than we can count.
North Kingstown has some of the most beautiful older homes in the state. We treat them that way. That means careful demo, minimal plaster damage, and respect for the character of your house while we bring the electrical system into this century.
First, we walk through your home and map out what needs to go and where the new system will run. We’re looking at your attic, your basement, your walls—figuring out the least invasive path to get modern wiring where it needs to be. You’ll get a clear estimate before we touch anything.
Once you’re ready to move forward, we pull the permits and schedule the work. We remove the old knob and tube wiring and install a new grounded system that meets Rhode Island electrical code. That includes a new panel if yours is outdated, new circuits, new outlets, and proper grounding throughout the house.
We don’t leave until everything’s inspected and signed off. You get documentation showing the work was done right, which is exactly what your insurance company wants to see. Most jobs take a few days depending on the size of your home, and yes, you can still live there while we work.
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You’re getting a complete electrical system upgrade for your old home in North Kingstown, RI—not a patch job. That means removing all the knob and tube wiring we can access, installing modern Romex wiring with proper insulation and grounding, and upgrading your electrical panel to handle today’s power demands.
We replace outdated wiring in every room we can reach without tearing your house apart. Most North Kingstown homes built before 1950 have knob and tube running through walls, attics, and basements. We fish new wire through existing spaces wherever possible, cutting access holes only when necessary and patching them when we’re done.
You also get new outlets, new switches, GFCI protection in kitchens and bathrooms, and AFCI breakers that prevent arc faults—one of the leading causes of electrical fires in older homes. Everything gets inspected by the town, and you receive a certificate of compliance that proves your home is safe and insurable. That document is worth its weight in gold when you’re trying to get coverage or sell your house.
Most full rewiring jobs in North Kingstown run between $10,000 and $36,000 depending on the size of your home, how accessible the wiring is, and whether you need a panel upgrade. A smaller cape or ranch on the lower end, a larger colonial or multi-story on the higher end.
Here’s what drives the cost: the amount of wire that needs replacing, how much wall or ceiling access we need, and whether your current panel can handle modern circuits or needs a full swap. If your attic and basement are open and accessible, the job goes faster and costs less. If we’re fishing wire through finished walls with no access points, it takes longer.
We give you a fixed price after we walk the house—no surprises, no hourly rate that spirals. And yeah, it’s a big number. But compare that to what you’re paying in extra insurance premiums every year, or what you’ll lose if your house burns down because of faulty wiring. This isn’t an expense—it’s a repair that should’ve been done decades ago.
No. Most of our clients stay in their homes during knob and tube wiring removal in North Kingstown, RI. You’ll have power most of the time, though we’ll need to shut it off in sections while we’re working on specific circuits.
We try to schedule the work so you’re not sitting in the dark during dinner or losing your fridge overnight. If we need to shut down the whole house for a panel upgrade, we’ll give you a heads-up and keep that window as short as possible—usually just a few hours.
The bigger inconvenience is the access work. We’ll need to get into your attic, your basement, and sometimes your walls. There will be dust, some noise, and a crew moving through your house for a few days. We put down drop cloths, clean up daily, and do our best to minimize the disruption. But if you’ve got the option to stay somewhere else for a few days, some people prefer it. It’s just not required.
We remove every bit of knob and tube wiring we can safely access without demolishing your home. In most North Kingstown houses, that means all of it. But there are rare cases where wire is buried inside a wall with no attic or basement access, and opening it up would mean tearing out plaster you’d rather keep.
When that happens, we talk through your options. Sometimes we can reroute a new circuit and abandon the old wire in place. Sometimes it makes sense to open the wall. It depends on what your insurance company requires and what you’re comfortable with.
Most insurers want proof that the active electrical system is fully upgraded and grounded. As long as the old wire isn’t connected to anything and isn’t carrying power, they’re usually fine with it. We document everything and provide photos and inspection reports so there’s no question about what was done.
Most homes take three to seven days depending on size, layout, and how much of the system needs replacing. A small ranch with an open attic and basement might be done in three days. A two-story colonial with finished ceilings and limited access might take a full week.
We’re not just pulling wire—we’re installing a complete new electrical system, upgrading your panel, adding circuits, grounding everything, and coordinating inspections with the town. That takes time if you want it done right.
You’ll have a timeline before we start, and we stick to it unless we open a wall and find something unexpected. That doesn’t happen often, but old homes occasionally surprise you. If it does, we stop, explain what we found, and tell you what it’ll take to fix it before we move forward. No one likes surprises on a project like this, so we communicate every step of the way.
Yes—and in many cases, it’s the only way to get coverage at all. Insurance companies in Rhode Island have been dropping homes with knob and tube wiring for years. The fire risk is too high, and they don’t want the liability.
If you’ve been denied coverage or your current insurer is threatening to drop you, replacing your wiring removes that obstacle. Once the work is inspected and you have documentation, you can go back to your carrier with proof that the hazard is gone. Most people see their rates drop significantly, and some get accepted by companies that turned them down before.
Even if your insurer hasn’t flagged it yet, they will eventually—especially if you try to file a claim or renew your policy. Getting ahead of it now saves you the scramble later when you’re facing cancellation and can’t find anyone willing to cover you. This upgrade doesn’t just lower your premium—it makes your home insurable, which is a bigger deal than most people realize until they’re stuck without coverage.
If your lights turn on, that doesn’t mean the wiring is safe. Knob and tube wiring wasn’t designed for the electrical load modern homes put on a system. It has no ground wire, the insulation deteriorates over time, and it’s a leading cause of electrical fires in older homes across Rhode Island.
The National Fire Protection Association links nearly half of all home electrical fires to wiring issues, and knob and tube is a major contributor. It overheats easily, especially if it’s been covered by insulation during a retrofit—something the 2008 National Electrical Code specifically prohibits. Even if it’s working today, it’s a ticking clock.
Then there’s the insurance issue. Carriers aren’t dropping homes with knob and tube wiring because they’re picky—they’re doing it because the data shows these homes burn down at a higher rate. If that’s not enough, think about resale value. Buyers walk away from homes with old wiring, or they use it to negotiate tens of thousands off your asking price. You can keep limping along with it, but eventually it’ll cost you more than just replacing it now.
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